SANDY  Similarities between theological concepts in the Book of Mormon about deification and aspects of the ancient Mayan culture suggest a Central American setting for the Book of Mormon, according to a scholar on Mesoamerican archaeology who spoke at the 2008 FAIR Conference.

Mark Alan Wright, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Riverside and a part-time member of the religion faculty at Brigham Young University, spoke today in the opening session of the two-day conference highlighting defense of the Mormon faith.